THE CHALLENGES AND COUNTERMEASURES FACED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE EDUCATION IN THAILAND IN THE NEW ERA

Abstract

As the nation with the world’s second-largest overseas Chinese population, Thailand assumes significant importance in Chinese language education. With China’s entry into a new era and the deepening of bilateral cooperation between China and Thailand across economic, trade, technological, cultural, and educational domains, the demand for Chinese language learning in Thailand has grown steadily. Chinese education initiatives, particularly concerning traditional Chinese private schools, are now poised to embrace new development opportunities. This study employed qualitative research methods, integrating literature analysis and in-depth interviews, to examine the challenges confronting the existing development models of Chinese education in Thailand from a macro-level perspective within the context of the new-era bilateral development, and to explore corresponding strategies. The findings indicate that the development of Chinese education in Thailand urgently requires a transition from traditional models toward teacher localization and teaching professionalism. Cultivating a robust cadre of local Chinese language teachers is essential to laying the foundation for educating more students proficient in the cultures of both nations, thereby providing “Mandarin+” composite talent support for deepening Sino-Thai cooperation in the economic, trade, and cultural sectors, among others.